SAIVA-SIDDHANTA

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THE SAIVA RELIGION.
God.
Just and yet merciful, that will by no means dear tlie guilty,
yet showing mercy unto thousands ."
Badacayana also touches upon this subject in I. iii. 40 and
we quote below the Purvapaksha and Siddhanta views on this
question from the commentary of Srjkantha.
Because of trembling (I.
iii. 40).
"In the Kathavallis, in the section treating of the thumbsized
purusha,
it is said as follows :
Whatever there is, the whole world when given forth
(from the Brahman) trembles in the breath. (It is) a great
terror, the thunderbolts uplifted, those who know 7 it become
immortal (Cit. 6, 2).
a doubt arises as to whether the cause of trembling
is the Paramsvara or some other being.
(Purvapaksha) Here the Sruti speaks of the trembling
:
of the whole universe by fear caused by the entity denoted by
the word breath. It is not right to say that the Paramesvara,
who is so sweet-natured as to afford refuge to the whole
Universe and who is
supremely gracious, is the cause of the
trembling of the whole Universe. Therefore, as the word
thunderbolt occurs here, it is the thunderbolt that is the
cause of trembling. Or it is the vital air which is the cause
of trembling because the word breath occurs here. Since the
vital air
causes the motion of the body, this whole world which
is the body, as it were, moves on account of the vital air.
Then we can explain the passage, whatever there is, the
whole world, when given forth (from the Brahman) trembles
in the breath Then we can also explain the statement that
it is a great terror, the thunderbolt uplifted, inasmuch as
lightning, cloud and rain, the thunderbolt which is the source of
great terror are produced by action of the air itself. It is also
possible to attain immortality by a knowledge of the air as the
following Sruti says :
Air is
everything itself and the air is all things together.
He who knows this conquers death. (Bri. Up. 5. 3. 2).
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